Monday, December 26, 2011

- Embrace Him as your greatest gift.

Every day, every moment.In Him we have been given the greatest gift of all!We were meant to treasure Him every day!

- Through salvation – First, have you embraced Him as your Lord and Savior?As we talked about in remembering what Christmas is about (above), we must each make sure we have personally embraced Jesus as our Savior.Romans 6:23reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Have you personally known Jesus in this way – by recognizing your sin and confessing it to Him, receiving His forgiveness, turning from that sin, trusting Jesus alone to save you, and giving your life to Him?

- Through all that He is – Secondly, after receiving Jesus as your Savior, are you embracing all that He is meant to be to you?Oh, friends!He is meant to be so real to us – to be everything to us!The more we will come to know our Jesus as the greatest gift, the more we will adore Him and the more Christmas will mean to us!Daily embrace Him in your heart - through time in His Word, prayer, walking through the day with Him… HE is what you are hungry for!Psalm 107:9 reminds us, “For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

Treasure Him, adore Him, give to Him, and relish this time of His birth and all it means!

Have a blessed CHRISTmas season – and may it just be the beginning of a new year of focusing on, walking with, and loving Jesus!

This time of year is about JESUS coming!It gives us every reason to rejoice and celebrate.Rejoice in this time and treasure the celebration of the One we love!(Even if people, stores, etc. don’t realize it, in celebrating this time of year, they are decorating, giving gifts, throwing parties, and playing carols for His birth!)Let your heart rejoice as you drive past homes decorated with lights, walk through stores playing “O Holy Night”, and have people wishing you “Merry Christmas.”Let your heart rejoice as you tell our Savior, “It’s all about You, Jesus.I rejoice in You.I love You, Jesus.”

“My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…”Isaiah 61:10

- It is Jesus’ Birthday - Are we sacrificing to give something of value to Him?

We may be giving lots of gifts to others in honor of Christmas, but are we giving anything of value to the ONE Christmas is all about?Most of all, He wants our hearts.But, when we sacrifice to give something of value to someone, it increases our love for them.On His birthday, He and the Father gave the greatest gift (Jesus) for God’s glory and our salvation.Our LIFE should be fully given to Jesus (so let this season be a revival of this), but also is there maybe something that you can give up in order to give Him something special?Maybe returning that new sweater you bought and giving that money to a missionary who is sharing Jesus?Or maybe it's passing on a Christmas party and spending that time with Him? Let's give something precious to the One Who is our greatest Treasure and Who this season is all about!

Share and talk about Him with everyone - the store clerks (give them a Gospel tract – “Here is a little Christmas gift for you about the greatest Christmas gift ever!”), with your friends (“What does Jesus’ coming mean to you?”), with your family, ("Isn't Jesus' love amazing?") etc.You will find that their hearts are hungry for Him and that your love for Him just deepens as you share Him!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

“And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”John 1:14

Are we focused on the reality that Jesus came so that we may live in His presence and are we soaking in His presence this time of year – or are we so consumed in buying, wrapping, and giving presents?(I want to clarify that buying presents/gifts for those we love is not wrong and can be a beautiful picture of giving as He did, the key is what consumes our focus!)

Allow HIS presence to be your greatest focus and joy – “In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”Psalm 16:11

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

- Listen to the words of Christmas carols.

Oh listen to them!They are FULL of amazing truths about Jesus!!!I just love to tune into the words as Christmas carols are playing around the house, as we are singing them in church, or as they are even playing in the stores!

Here are a few of my favorites:“Silent night, holy night; Son of God, Love’s pure light!”“The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger; in all our trials, born to be our friend. He knows our need; our weakness is no stranger.Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!”“He rules the world with Truth and grace; And makes the nations prove; The glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love.”“How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n; So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”